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Police in N. Fulton rescue two dogs from 169-degree car

Police in Roswell saved the lives of two dogs on Sunday by rescuing them from a car they said had heated up to 169 degrees.

The pair of small dogs were suffering from heat stroke, police said, and were left in a black Chevrolet Impala in the Studio Movie Grill parking lot at 2880 Holcomb Bridge Road. The windows were slightly rolled down and a passerby noticed one dog barking and called police. Bill Lowe, the responding officer, was nearby and got to the scene in 18 seconds.

Around 4 p.m., the dogs were freed from the car by police and treated on the scene by EMS personnel. The dogs were then taken to an emergency animal hospital, were treated and discharged, police said.

The owner of the dogs, Shaquanda Cole, 35 of Bonaire, was charged with two counts of animal cruelty. Her dogs were seized by Fulton County Animal Control and will remain in their custody until Cole’s court appearance in August.

Police said the dogs were “very aggressive” from “heat and fear.” At first, they noticed one dog who was barking, but when police opened the door to the car, another dog crawled from under a seat. Police determined that they had been in the car for more than an hour and that the second dog had gone under the seat to escape the sunlight.

Near the end of the video posted by Roswell police, Lowe tells the owner who is cooling of the dogs with water from a fire hydrant, “I think we got here just in time to save these animal’s lives.”

Roswell police urge citizens to call 911 if they see an animal left inside a hot car.